Sexing Dinosaurs with Fossil Hormones?
Artificial maturation experiments revealed high thermal stability of estrogen. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) might have detected possible trace levels in some specimens of a small sample of bones as old as the Jurassic. Our results have implications for sex determination in fossils and the study of reproduction and sexual selection across deep time. More to come…
Conference Poster: Saitta et al. 2023. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Media: Gizmodo
Dinosaur amino acids
Titanosaur and hadrosaur eggshell contain only a few of the most thermally stable amino acids, which are completely freed from their protein sequences and further altered. These results are likely the most robust evidence of dinosaur protein-derived breakdown products.
Study: Saitta et al. 2023. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Press Releases: University of Chicago, University of York
My Summary: The Conversation
Media: Brief mention in Illustreret Videnskab (Denmark) & The Common Descent Podcast; related work covered by LM Neuquen (Argentina)
Fossil Pigments
Pigments like melanin, carotenoids, and porphyrins can preserve deep in the fossil record and allow for the reconstruction of color patterns in organisms, such as dinosaurs.
Study: Roy et al. 2019. Biological Reviews
Evan T. Saitta, Ph.D. 